Bankruptcy of any company is considered an unpleasant and complex process. It is implemented only if there are good reasons, and also provided that reorganization or the implementation of other similar actions in no way will improve the financial situation of the organization. If the company goes bankrupt, what will happen to the employees? Under such conditions, all employees of the company are reduced.
They are entitled to severance pay, salaries and some other benefits. If the company does not have the money to pay off the debt to its hired specialists, then employees become creditors. First of all, they can count on getting their money after bankruptcy proceedings.
Bankruptcy concept
It is represented by a situation where the company becomes insolvent, therefore, can not be responsible for its obligations. This is due to the lack of the necessary amount of funds on her accounts. Usually the reason for this situation is the excess of expenses over cash receipts.
Officially, a company is declared bankrupt only by court order. To do this, pre-managers must prepare documents confirming that the company is insolvent. There are different models of bankruptcy of an enterprise, and the procedure is implemented only by the manager, who is appointed by the court.
The process can be carried out voluntarily or forcibly. In the first case, the owners of the companies themselves realize the need for bankruptcy, and in the second situation, the trial begins with a tax inspection or other creditors. If the company goes bankrupt, what will happen to the employees? All employees will be reduced, but at the same time they can receive the due payments.
When does a company go bankrupt?
Bankruptcy proceedings begin when the following conditions are met:
- the total amount of debt may not be less than 100 thousand rubles;
- within three months, the company did not transfer any funds to repay the existing debt;
- the company in its financial condition cannot satisfy the requirements of all creditors.
If the management realizes that the company is not solvent, then it can independently begin the procedure for declaring the company insolvent. What will happen to employees if the company goes bankrupt? All employees quit, for which the standard reduction procedure is used. They can count on standard payments and severance pay.
How is the process performed?
Bankruptcy cases are pending in court. By decision of this body, a manager is appointed, who then deals with the management of the company. He draws up a register of creditors, and also holds meetings at which decisions are made regarding the application of certain measures in relation to the debtor company.
The bankruptcy procedure may consist in the implementation of various stages, for which the financial capabilities and other characteristics of the organization are taken into account. Bankruptcy management of an enterprise is carried out by an appointed manager with the necessary skills and experience. The procedure itself consists in the implementation of the following actions:
- observation begins initially, and during this stage, the manager receives the maximum amount of information about the financial condition of the company under study;
- if necessary, a rehabilitation process is carried out, consisting in the financial recovery of the company and in the restoration of solvency, but this is possible only if there are relevant signs;
- if the rehabilitation does not give the desired results, then external management begins, the main purpose of which is the identification of all property and other values available to the enterprise;
- in addition, during the management, all creditors are identified, which include employees of the enterprise who have not received their salaries for the worked period;
- bankruptcy proceedings consist in the sale of existing property, after which the funds received from this process are sent to pay off debts;
- if necessary, an amicable agreement may be drawn up between the creditors and the company, after which the company often continues to operate.
The stages can be different, and also not always the procedure leads to the closure of the company. If there is an opportunity for financial recovery, then employees continue their activities in the organization.
Fundamentals of Staff Reduction
Each hired specialist is interested in the question of what will happen to employees if the company goes bankrupt. If there is no opportunity to restore the solvency of the organization, then the company ceases to function. This leads to the dismissal of all employees, for which the following rules are taken into account:
- if the financial condition of the organization is deplorable, then this will certainly affect the welfare of its employees, so employees usually face delays in paying salaries, so they can foresee bankruptcy;
- if the company has debts to its own employees, then all hired specialists are counted as creditors, and they can primarily expect to receive their funds after the bankruptcy proceedings;
- at the time of the firm’s closure, there should be no employees in the state, therefore they are forcibly reduced at the stage of external management;
- all payments should be transferred based on the requirements of the Labor Code, and employees will not be able to avoid a reduction in any way;
- in case of bankruptcy under the Federal Law “On Insolvency”, the employer must send notifications of reduction not only to employees, but also to some state bodies.
The appointed manager must ensure that the labor rights and interests of employees are not violated.
Notification Rules
The bankruptcy process of an enterprise should be accompanied by the following actions by the management of the company or an external manager:
- a notice of mass reduction is sent to the employment center three months before the dismissal of workers;
- direct hired specialists are notified of this process two months before the termination of the employment relationship, and for this, written notices containing information on the timing and reasons for the reduction are formed by the personnel of the HR service;
- such notifications are made in duplicate, since one document remains with the employer, and the other is transferred to the employee;
- on the last day of work, each employee receives a work book containing information about the reduction, and he is paid the required payments and compensation.
If the employee does not want to sign the notice of reduction, then a specialist certificate is issued by the personnel department.
What is the record in the work book?
The record in the labor bankruptcy of an enterprise should include the following data:
- indicates that the specialist was dismissed as a result of the bankruptcy of the company;
- the date of reduction of the citizen
- Prescribes basic information about the company being closed.
This record is signed by the direct employee.
What are employee benefits assigned?
Bankruptcy of an enterprise is necessarily accompanied by a transfer of due payments to employees. If the company does not have free cash, then employees become creditors, debts to which are repaid after bankruptcy proceedings. Be sure employees receive the following types of payments:
- salary for hours worked, and most often citizens do not receive salaries for several months before the bankruptcy of the enterprise;
- compensation for vacations if employees have not exercised their right to rest in specified periods of time;
- severance pay for two months, which is calculated on the basis of average earnings;
- if the delay in salary is significant at all, then employees can sue the employer, as a result of which the head of the company will have to transfer the accrued interest and overdue compensation to all hired specialists.
The above payments in size are considered significant, but not always the company can transfer the required funds to employees. Therefore, people have a question about how to get paid in bankruptcy. To do this, they must be included in the register of creditors and expect bankruptcy proceedings. If the company does not have any property, then it is likely that employees will not receive any cash. This is due to the fact that the founders are not liable for debts with personal property.
Severance pay
Since citizens are reduced in the company, they are entitled to receive the corresponding severance pay. Dismissal in case of bankruptcy of an enterprise is considered not too profitable for the management of the company, therefore, often employers try to dismiss employees in advance for various reasons or require their independent care. You should not agree with these requirements or requests, as in this case, hired specialists will lose a certain amount of funds laid down by law.
The rules for calculating and paying severance pay include:
- severance pay is represented by the average citizen earnings in the company;
- the person retains his average earnings for the next two months if he cannot find a suitable place of employment, but for this the employee must register with the employment center within two weeks after the reduction;
- for residents of the Far North, earnings up to six months can still be saved if they do not find another job.
An employer cannot simply refuse to transfer severance pay, and bankruptcy proceedings cannot be used as an excuse. Salary arrears should be repaid in the first place along with debts to the state.
The order of dismissal
It is simply impossible to reduce all employees in one day, and this is especially true for really large organizations, in which a large number of hired specialists work. Therefore, the procedure is implemented in several stages. Some workers have a pre-emptive right, so they should be the last to be fired. These employees include:
- pregnant workers;
- minor employees;
- women raising small children alone;
- disabled people and professionals on maternity leave.
The later the employee is fired, the greater the amount of funds he will be paid by the employer.
Debt repayment rules
Often during the bankruptcy procedure, the employer has a lot of debts to employees, since the company does not have the necessary amount of funds to pay earnings. How to get paid in bankruptcy in this case? For this, the requirements of the legislation are taken into account:
- first of all, after bankruptcy proceedings, the company is obliged to repay its debts to employees;
- only then can funds be used to pay off debts of banks or counterparties;
- based on Art. 180 TC immediately after the sale of bankruptcy estate settlements with employees;
- In addition, severance pay and other compensations to hired specialists are paid from the amount received.
If any citizen has the right to additional compensation, then he must transfer supporting documentation to the appointed manager so that he includes this debt in a special register. Otherwise, it is likely that the employee may not receive his funds due to the fact that the money received from bankruptcy proceedings will be directed to other purposes.
How is an employment contract terminated?
Since all employees are reduced in the process of bankruptcy of the enterprise, the company management must understand how the employment contract is terminated. The procedure is based on the provisions of Art. 84.1 TC.
To do this, the head of the enterprise issues an order for reduction, which is transmitted for study to each employee. It is allowed to indicate in one order several specialists with whom the employment relationship is terminated. If the employee does not want to sign the order, an appropriate act is formed.
On the last day of work, every citizen receives a work book, which states the date and reason for dismissal. If a person is absent at the place of work on that day, then a notification is sent to him about the need to come to work for documentation. With his consent, the work book can be mailed.
Terms of funds transfer
Severance pay, together with salary debts, should be paid first, but no more than 30 thousand rubles are transferred. for each hired specialist.
After that, the remaining wage arrears are paid. Only then are the funds transferred in the form of remuneration for the use of someone else's intellectual property.
Conclusion
Each company should consider the bankruptcy of the Federal Law "On Insolvency". This normative act contains information on how various funds should be transferred to employees of the company. If the company does not have the necessary funds for this, then payments are made after bankruptcy proceedings.
Money is paid to employees in the first place, and only then repayment of debts to other creditors begins. Payments include not only salary, but also severance pay.